After the rise in the stock market on Tuesday, Nifty opened weak on weekly close. Sensex fell 200 points and Nifty 80 points. Bank Nifty initially touched a new high of 59,026 but then fell slightly from there. The benchmark index opened in the green compared to yesterday’s close, but then fell from there.
Barring the PSU Bank index, all other sectoral indices remained in the red. The biggest decline was seen in metal, realty and IT stocks. Max Healthcare, Bharti Airtel, BEL, Axis Bank, Eternal, ONGC and Bajaj Auto were the top gainers on the Nifty 50. Hindalco, Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv and IndiGo were the biggest losers. Sensex opened 92 points higher at 85,042. Nifty opened 8 points higher at 26,021. Bank Nifty opened 28 points higher at 58,990. In the currency market, the rupee opened 3 paise lower at 88.66/dollar.
The weekly close of Nifty was reflecting slightly weak signals from global markets. A huge fall was seen in the American markets yesterday. The Dow fell 550 points for the third straight day to close at a four-week low. The Nasdaq also fell nearly 200 points to a one-month low amid a sharp swing of 500 points. GIFT Nifty is trading near 26,000, down 50 points, while Dow futures are seeing a marginal gain of 50 points. The impact of rising tensions with China was clearly visible in Asia, where Japan’s Nikkei fell 1,000 points.
Update on India-US trade agreement
A trade deal between India and the US now looks closer than ever. The Chief Economic Advisor of the White House has said that this agreement is moving towards completion soon. India’s Commerce Secretary also expressed hope that about 50 percent of the major issues related to tariffs and market access could be resolved in the first phase.
Commodity Market Update
The strengthening of the dollar had an impact on the commodity market. In the international market, gold fell by $60, while silver fell by two percent. In the domestic market, gold weakened by Rs 500 and closed at Rs 1,22,900 and silver remained stable at Rs 1,55,500. Crude oil remained soft around $64. Selling continued in base metals. On the LME, copper, aluminum and zinc fell for the third consecutive day, while nickel fell to a seven-month low after five consecutive days of selling.
FII-DII statistics
On the fund inflow front, FIIs made small purchases of Rs 442 crore in the cash market yesterday after five consecutive days of selling, but overall they made net sales of Rs 410 crore. Domestic funds continue to buy heavily by pumping money into the market for 56 consecutive days. Yesterday, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought ₹1,466 crore.
Which news will be the focus?
Among stock-specific activities, the market will keep an eye on block deals today. A mega block deal worth ₹4,626 crore is possible in Mphasis, in which Blackstone can sell about 9.5 per cent of its stake at the floor price of ₹2,570. A block deal worth ₹1,640 crore is also in the works for Paytm, in which SAIF Partners and Elevation Capital can sell about 2 percent of their stake. Bain Capital may sell about 2 per cent of its stake in Emcure Pharma in a deal worth around ₹500 crore.
IPO listing
On the listing front, Physicswala’s IPO, which was oversubscribed more than twice, will list today. Its issue price was ₹109. MV Photovoltaic Power’s shares, which were subscribed for only once, will also be listed today. Capillary Technologies’ IPO, which closes today, has received a lukewarm response so far and is only half subscribed. Its price band is ₹549 to ₹577. The Finance Minister will also hold three important pre-budget meetings today, where the capital markets, startup ecosystem and manufacturing sector will present their budget demands.
